Faye D. Copeland v. James Washington, Faye D. Copeland v. James Washington

HEANEY, Circuit Judge.

Faye D. Copeland was convicted of five counts of first degree murder on a theory of accomplice liability in state court. She was sentenced to death on four of the counts, and on one count she was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The Missouri Supreme Court upheld her convictions and sentences on direct appeal and denied her claims for post-conviction relief. See State v. Copeland, 928 S.W.2d 828 (Mo. 1996) (en banc), cert. denied, 519 U.S. 1126, 117 S.Ct. 981, 136 L.Ed.2d 864 (1997). On federal habeas review, the district court upheld her…